


Cat got your soulmate

by classicpleistocene



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Dual POV, M/M, Pets, Soulmate AU, With A Twist, i guess?, set in a near future where technology has advanced to make people's lives better, the characters drink just as much tea as the author did while writing this, yuri and otabek are both in their twenties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 08:58:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13291488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/classicpleistocene/pseuds/classicpleistocene
Summary: When Potya goes missing, Yuri is heartbroken and scared.The handsome guy who finds him turns out to be much more than a stranger.





	Cat got your soulmate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zetal (Rodinia)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/gifts).



Yuri hung the last of the posters on a streetlight in front of a nice small house with a snowy garden. He thought he’d printed more, but he’d underestimated how big the neighborhood was. It was still a few hours until sunset, but the white-grey sky promised more snow soon.

He had fought off the sadness by preparing, printing and hanging the posters as soon as he noticed that Potya was missing. Now that there was nothing else he could do, he felt a rush of emotions hitting him like a train. He’d never gone more than twelve hours without his cat, and the thought that something bad might have happened to him was enough to send him to the verge of a panic attack.

A loud bark startled him to reality, and he looked just in time to see a huge dog walking excitedly towards him. The dog might have run if it wasn’t sinking deep into the snow.

From what little Yuri knew of dogs, it was a Saint Bernard, which Yuri thought were docile and not aggressive, but he was still scared of its size when the dog stepped onto the snow-free sideways, stopped at his feet and started sniffing his legs.

“Hey. Good boy.”

The dog wasn’t on a leash, but a collar around its neck marked it as a SoulPet, just like Potya. It had come from the house with garden.

Perhaps from fear, Yuri started talking to him, which was something he reserved only to his own pet. “You don’t happen to have seen my cat around, do you?”

The dog only licked Yuri’s hand in reply, wagging his tail.

“Well. Don’t eat him if you do. Please..?” Yuri said in a tiny voice. He was surprised to see that the dog walked with him for a few meters when he started heading home again. He was starting to wonder what he should do when the dog looked behind him and ran back to the house.

Dogs had never liked Yuri much, and Yuri himself had always liked cats more, but meeting the Saint Bernard made him even more worried about Potya again. He’d heard of SoulPets running away and never coming back, but he’d never thought that Potya would leave him and get lost. Or worse.

Coming back to an empty home wasn’t something Yuri had ever had to do. Doing so on Christmas Eve, a few months after he lost his grandpa too, made him break down in tears as soon as he was inside.

Potya had been assigned to him when Yuri was born, an unique match for what early DNA tests had predicted of Yuri’s personality.

SoulPets were designed to better one’s life, the way pet therapy had once helped people with various issues, except they were better fits and they followed each individual from birth to death.

Now, without his grandpa to make him his special Christmas pirozhki and without Potya to keep him company, for the first time Yuri felt completely alone.

 

***

 

On Christmas morning, he woke up to the unpleasant feeling of dried tears all over his cheeks. He felt Potya’s absence before opening his eyes, and he decided that Christmas was pure and utter shit. He would stay in bed all day and try to forget that everyone else was having fun with their own family in their own nice homes with their own loving pets.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the door rang. He’d fallen back asleep to a dream of finding Potya in a bright snowy field, only to be prevented from reaching him by a horde of very loud Saint Bernard puppies.

The door rang again as he was trying to decide whether it was worth to get out of bed for what was going to most likely be some annoyance, probably the priest trying to convert him or something. Who else would ring on Christmas morning?

He didn’t dare hope that it could be anyone else, maybe someone with-

He shot out of bed, telling himself that even if it was just the priest, he would welcome a chance to yell at him that he wasn’t interested. He almost tumbled down the stairs in his hurry to get to the door before whoever it was would leave.

Thank fuck it wasn’t a priest, despite the almost all-black outfit. At the door stood a young man, a little shorter than Yuri but somehow more imposing. That was all Yuri noticed of him before he saw that the guy was holding one of the posters Yuri had hung.

“Is this the right address?”

Yuri’s jaw hung loose, his heart racing. “Did you find him? Did you find Potya?”

The stranger’s face relaxed slightly, but Yuri still found something weird in his eyes, something like awe. He didn’t have time to think about it before the guy loosened a button of his coat and moved his dark grey scarf to the side to reveal Potya’s sleepy face.

“Potya!” Yuri couldn’t move.

The stranger kept working the top of his coat open, where Potya was resting against his chest, kept in place by the coat. He took him in his arms as if he was a baby and handed him to Yuri, who was still too dumbstruck.

“You… you…” Then he snapped out of it and took Potya from the stranger’s arms. “What the fuck were you thinking?! He could have suffocated!”

The stranger held up his hands, then he shook the lapels of his coat. “This is the loosest one I have. I made sure he could breathe. It’s so cold, I just wanted to keep him warm. He was fine, I promise.”

Yuri faintly recalled his grandpa yelling at him after he got himself in trouble as a kid. Only now he understood that the yelling had only been a manifestation of his fear, not unlike what was happening to him now. Except he wasn’t yelling at Potya, but at the guy. He looked behind the stranger, where a motorcycle was parked just outside of Yuri’s house.

“Is that… Shit, did you drive Potya on _that_?”

The guy looked guilty enough that Yuri almost felt bad for him. “It’s safe, I promise. I went slow and I made sure that there was no ice on the road-”

Yuri was distracted by Potya trying to wiggle out of his arms, looking almost desperately at the guy who’d just brought him back.

“Potya, calm down. It’s me.”

As a result Potya jumped down, meowing at the other guy’s feet and rubbing his head against his legs. The stranger looked uncomfortable, like he didn’t dare make a move or speak. He was looking at Yuri as if he’d seen a ghost, and Yuri took some pleasure in the fact that the guy seemed scared of him.

“I found him yesterday, he was half frozen but he kept clawing at my door. I brought him in and made sure he was warm and ate something. It was already dark and when I came home I didn’t see your poster. I would have put up and ad today to find the owner if I hadn’t seen yours on my way out.” He spoke in a calm tone, as if to reassure a frightened animal, which Yuri supposed he kind of was.

“Fine. Thank you for keeping him safe for the night. And for bringing him back.” Yuri wished he didn’t sound like a brat even when he was thanking someone. It made him look like an ungrateful bastard.

Potya was still rubbing his head on the stranger’s legs, the gesture of possessiveness, which he had never done with anyone else than Yuri, not even with grandpa. It made Yuri feel strange, as if a fundamental law of his world had been broken.

“Potya, come on.”

The stranger kneeled down to pet him. “I’m sorry, he’s been really affectionate all night.” To Potya he said, softly, “Go to Yuri.”

Yuri had the sudden thought that the stranger had no way of knowing his name, but of course he did. The posters mentioned his name, phone number and address. Still, hearing him say it out loud was something he wasn’t prepared for. He felt the hair on his arms rise.

At the stranger’s words, Potya went back to Yuri, rubbing his head against him once, then ran upstairs as if he’d never left the house.

Yuri couldn’t get rid of the strange feeling. He tried to break the silence, but the other guy was faster.

“Well, I uh… I better get back to my dog.”

“Saint Bernard?” He wasn’t sure why he asked.

The stranger looked stunned. “How do you know?”

“When I hung the posters this huge dog came to me, he might as well have been a bear. I… dunno, when you mentioned a dog that’s the one I thought of.”

The stranger smiled for the first time. “He is pretty huge, yes. He’s usually really shy though.”

Yuri didn’t know how to make conversation about dogs, so he just stared.

“Well, merry Christmas then,” said the guy, and he walked back to his motorcycle.

“Yeah, you too.” Yuri wasn’t sure he’d said it loud enough for the stranger to hear it.

He got back inside, shutting the door behind him, and went to find Potya. They had some cuddling to do.

 

* * *

 

 

Otabek loved Christmas. He loved being surrounded by his little siblings, indulging in homemade cookies all morning and then going for what had become a traditional ice skating date with his friends, just for fun, even though he was proud knowing he was better than all of them.

But that was all back in Almaty. He had no family here in Saint Petersburg, no friends to go ice skating with, no siblings to play with. And not enough money for a plane ticket to go visit them.

He had tried to make his house look festive, but all he really had was his dog and a terrible feeling that he had missed his chance.

He hadn’t dared say it or hope for it. But the cat had found him, and it wasn’t just a random cat, it was a SoulPet. He hadn’t thought much of it until he’d seen Yuri.

When Yuri had said his dog went to him, that’s when Otabek knew. Beethoven had always been a polite but reserved dog. He didn’t just walk out to greet random strangers on the street. Unless he sensed that the stranger was Otabek’s soulmate, which was one of the many things that SoulPets were sensitive to.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the kettle whistling. He was on his second tea already and he was anticipating drinking many more. Not like there was much else to do on Christmas when you didn’t know anybody.

He brought his steaming mug to the couch and sat down with a book. Beethoven laid next to him and he was so huge he took up almost all the space. Otabek threw an arm around the dog and made himself smaller against the armrest.

After a while, the warmth was almost enough to make him fall asleep, but Beethoven sat up and pointed his nose at the door, wagging his tail excitedly in Otabek’s face.

“What is it, Bee?”

A soft knock came from the door a few seconds later. Otabek’s heart started racing as he hurried to see who it was, and he was surprised to feel that it could beat even faster when he found that at the door was none other than Yuri.

“Hi. I uhm. Sorry to interrupt.” His nose was pink from the cold, and flakes of snow were stuck in his hair. Potya was with him, and he hurried inside to rub against Otabek’s legs.

Otabek leaned down to scratch its head. The cat was wearing a little coat. “It’s fine, I’m just here with my dog.” He was winded as if he’d been running a marathon.

“You’re alone?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

He took a look up at the rest of Yuri, seeing he was holding a thermal bag. He pointed to it. “Is that food?”

“Oh. Yeah. I made some pirozhki and I- I realized I didn’t even thank you properly. You drove all the way and I didn’t even offer you tea or anything.”

“Don’t worry.”

“No, I was rude and I’m sorry. I’m just-”

“Come inside, you’re freezing.”

Yuri did, and Otabek took the bag from him. Their hands would have touched if Yuri wasn’t wearing gloves.

“Come,” Otabek said again. “Make yourself at home.”

He lead them to the kitchen, where he started making another tea for both of them. Beethoven greeted both Yuri and Potya excitedly, even though Yuri looked a little scared. The two pets then cuddled together on the couch like old buddies.

“Potya has never liked dogs.”

Otabek smiled. He wondered if Yuri had come to the same conclusion as he had. “He made friends with Beethoven right away.”

Yuri went to sit on one of the chairs at the kitchen counter. “Tell me you didn’t name your Saint Bernard _Beethoven_ ,” he said, amused.

Otabek looked at the couch again, where Potya was licking Beethoven’s snout. “Before you give me shit for it, it has nothing to do with the movie. Beethoven is my favorite composer,” he said a bit proudly.

Stifling a laugh, Yuri said, “That’s your argument for me not giving you shit?”

Otabek scowled. Maybe Yuri wasn’t his soulmate after all. “Liking classical music is nothing to make fun of.”

“Pfft. You’re talking to a guy who dances to Tchaikovsky for a living.”

So maybe Yuri was his soulmate after all. Otabek had to stop himself from saying that out loud. If Yuri didn’t know, didn’t suspect… People reacted differently to finding their soulmate, and sometimes they could get scared. Yuri seemed like someone who would get frightened if he suspected he’d found his at a 15 minutes walk from his house.

What he last said made Otabek’s curiosity peak. “You’re a ballet dancer?”

“Yes, and Tchaikovsky is _the_ superior composer.”

Otabek poured boiling water in their mugs as they kept talking about music and ballet. As much as he wanted for them to relax together on the couch, it still seemed too intimate, and he suspected Yuri wouldn’t be on the same page as him. Nevermind that their pets took up all the space there.

They drank Otabek’s favorite blend of Christmas tea, and Yuri remembered the bag he’d brought. Otabek hadn’t eaten all day, and he was thankful for the still warm pirozhki, even though Yuri had definitely forgotten one or two ingredients and added too much of something else that Otabek couldn’t quite identify.

They talked, and he learned among other things that Yuri was the principal male dancer of the Mariinsky Ballet, one of the best ballet companies in town. When Yuri talked about it, he seemed to transform into another person. If talking about pirozhki and his grandpa made him seem like a regular twenty-something year old neighbor, talking about ballet and theater life made him into a talent-driven star.

When he talked about his accomplishments he didn’t sound arrogant, just truthful. He talked with the certainty and detachment of a person who’s been put on a path and is going to follow it without giving much thought to whether this is his passion or not.

Otabek wanted to ask him if he was happy. He wanted to push back the strand of blonde hair that escaped the messy bun that Yuri had made at some point during their conversation.

They talked about Otabek, too. Yuri insisted on listening to one of his weird Beethoven remixes, and he didn’t comment much other than nodding a few times. He seemed fascinated by all the aspects of Otabek’s musical career, so different than his own.

Potya and Beethoven came to the kitchen to look for food or a belly rub, and Otabek motioned Yuri to get comfortable on the couch while it was free, if he wanted. It wasn’t awkward if not in Otabek’s head. The more they talked, the more Otabek felt himself fall into deep fascination with this young man whom he’d barely just met.

He wasn’t sure that suspecting that Yuri was his soulmate made a difference. Perhaps it didn’t, or perhaps it was fundamental.

Even between soulmates, there was a level of trust and comfort that had to be built. Some people never found their soulmates, but even finding them didn’t mean that it was going to be love at first sight or conversation.

Otabek really hoped they could meet again after this, with the mutual knowledge that out of everyone in the whole world they were the only perfect match for each other, but being faced with the soulmate reality could be traumatic if the person didn’t come to the conclusion on their own. He wouldn’t force this truth on Yuri, no matter how obvious it seemed to him that their pets being so friendly with the other person was proof enough.

“We need some light in here,” Yuri said.

Otabek blinked. Indeed it had gotten dark without him noticing. That placed the time around four in the afternoon, which meant they’d been talking for hours without him really realizing.

He leaned over to switch on a small lamp next to the couch. Potya was asleep on Yuri’s lap, and Beethoven was watching them from where he was lying on the floor.

Some said that from the moment you were sure of who your soulmate was, you would get this sense of everything being right. With Yuri and their pets surrounding him, Otabek could only compare this feeling to putting on glasses for the first time and realizing how blurry the world had looked.

After a few minutes in which neither spoke, Yuri finally said, “I should go home.”

Otabek knew that, but it still hurt to let him go. “You can stay if you want.”

Yuri shook his head, smiling. “New Year’s Eve. Got any plans?”

Otabek smiled too.

 

* * *

 

 

Trying to make his house look nice for Otabek had to be the most exhausting thing Yuri had ever done, even counting all the hours of ballet practice. No matter where he looked, he noticed how messy it was, how old grandpa’s furniture looked, how many things had accumulated throughout the years. Maybe it was time to sell the house and move out to a place he could decorate from scratch.

Potya meowed from where he was sitting on a pile of books leaning over like the Pisa tower.

“Yes, I know! I just don’t know where else to put them.”

He could swear that Potya was laughing at him.

“Otabek’s house was kept so nice and clean, he’s gonna hate it here.”

Potya licked his paws as if to say, _Hey, that’s all on you_.

Keeping his mind occupied on cleaning was easier than the rest of his thoughts. He’d been a fool, a blind fool. He’d seen the signs and it had taken him one full day to realize what it all meant.

Now Otabek was due to his house in one hour, the place was still a mess, he still hadn’t cooked anything, and he couldn’t believe this is how he was ending his year.

He decided to at least not ruin their dinner with his unskilled cooking and ordered from a restaurant he’d heard good things about.

One hour later the house looked somewhat better (only then it occurred to him that Otabek might not care about that), and when he heard the excited bark of Beethoven he ran to the door before Otabek could ring.

That left Otabek with a surprised but pleased expression on his face. “Hi.”

“Hey. Come inside. Food will be here shortly.”

It wasn't as cold as on the day they met, and Otabek was wearing a black leather jacket instead of the coat he had on on Christmas day. It suited him much better.

Beethoven looked excited to see Yuri again, and for a minute Yuri thought he would be tackled to the ground, but the dog had probably been trained to not hurt people with his sheer size, so he looked content to just walk in circles around Yuri, looking up at him and wagging his tail.

He managed to control his fear and pat his head. If what people said about SoulPets was correct, he had nothing to worry about, not around Beethoven.

Looking at Otabek, still standing there in the hallway and shrugging his jacket off, he saw that Potya had also run to him and he was manifesting his excitement in a more contained, feline way. But there was no denying that their pets were completely smitten with their owner's soulmate.

Yuri allowed himself to think the word briefly, and when his eyes met Otabek's again, he thought he saw the same word reflected in them.

He swallowed. “Let's drink something.”

They chatted while drinking a glass of wine and when food was delivered they realized it was much more that they could finish in one single evening. Their conversation was surprisingly comfortable, the same kind of unnatural feeling Yuri had felt during Christmas, whereas it usually took him a while before he warmed up to someone. They stayed on safe topics, but Yuri was aware of the ticking clock.

They had planned to wait for midnight and see the fireworks on the river after dinner, but all Yuri wanted to do was stay at home and keep talking to Otabek.

He decided to move the conversation forward, speed it up a little and point it in the right direction. “You know, when my grandpa was around, his SoulPet was also a cat. A grey old thing like him, and he was grumpy and minded his own business. He never really played with me or Potya, not even when I was a small kid. And even before I can remember, Potya also had never tried to become friends with him. That's something young kittens usually do with other pets around the house.”

He wasn't sure if this was the right path, but Otabek gave a small, silent nod, and Yuri continued. “What I'm saying is that Potya has never cared for anyone else but me. He's never been friendly with other people or with other pets. But he instantly liked you and Beethoven, and, well, he even ran away from home to find you.” It's what Yuri had been suspecting. Potya had probably smelled Otabek's scent when they were having a walk, or maybe Otabek had walked past Yuri's house before, and recognized him for Yuri's soulmate.

If Yuri had only wanted to bring the conversation on less safe shores, perhaps see if Otabek would be the first one to make a move, he found that now he couldn’t stop, not when Otabek pierced him with his gaze, the corners of his mouth slightly turned upward.

He took a deep breath. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that Potya really likes you, and Beethoven really likes me, and I think you’ve realized what that meant before I did, and it doesn’t mean that we have to do anything about it if you don’t want to, I mean you’re very attractive but this whole, huh… soulmate thing is like, it doesn’t have to-”

Otabek interrupted him, frowning. “You mean… you’re not interested… you wouldn’t want to-”

“No! That’s not what I mean. I would really like to- to get to know you better, but if you don’t that’s also okay, this soulmate thing doesn’t have to define us.”

“I’m interested. In getting to know you, I mean.”

Yuri let out a breath.  “You are?”

“Yes. I really like you, and it’s not because… I mean, it might be partly because we’re soulmates, but I just- I like you. I want us to take our time with each other, go through all the steps.”

Yuri grinned. “Can the first step be not going out and staying inside with Potya and Beethoven instead?”

Otabek took Yuri’s hand in his. “Absolutely.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.   
> Find me as **aftgonice** on twitter and tumblr.


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